Exclusive Author Interview with D.G. Driver!

This week, I will be posting interviews with the authors of the Second Chance for Love anthology. In honor of Mother’s Day, our publisher, Melange Books, LLC, will have the eBook available for free on Amazon from May 7-9!

Today, I’m going to interview the lovely and talented D.G. Driver.

D.G. Driver has been a published author for 21 years and is a member of SCBWI. She has a number of award-winning, critically acclaimed non-fiction books published as Donna Getzinger. She has three books published with Fire and Ice Young Adult Books: Cry of the Sea, Whisper of the Woods, and Passing Notes. In addition to writing, she is a teacher and loves performing in musicals. She lives in Nashville with her family. You can learn more about her from her website.

Dalton Jones is a traffic cop who feels guilty about giving a speeding ticket to a beautiful single mom. With his teenage daughter’s help, he finds a way to meet the woman again, and they fall for each other. Only, he’s neglected to tell her who he really is.

STANDARDISHUE INTERVIEW

Katie: Would you share a special moment from another story you’ve written?

D.G.: I like to find that spot in a novel I’m reading when the title pops up. I remember the episode of Family Guy where Peter Griffin says “There it is!” every time he hears a title in a movie, and I do the same thing. Well, I didn’t plan it intentionally, but here is that moment in Cry of the Sea, and it’s one of my favorite moments of the book, when Juniper is really distraught about the mermaids going missing and the mermaid mania going on down at the beaches from people who want to spot or catch a mermaid.

“Dad, listen to me. Hear me. I’m going to tell you a story. It goes like this. Our people have lived on this land for thousands of years, right? We lived in harmony with the cedar tree, the whale, the elk, and raven. Less than three hundred years ago white men came here and took our land from us. They killed us when they couldn’t understand us, and they put us to work for them when they could. They chopped down our cedar trees, massacred our whales, shot our elk, and captured our ravens. Now we’re just ghosts walking in a desolate world. Do you recognize that story, Dad?”

Dad nodded, “Of course, I taught you that.”

“Yes,” I said. “Over and over again.”

“What’s your point?” Dad asked. It surprised me that he didn’t see the connection.

“My point is,” I said slowly, “just because people have learned about the tragedy that befell the American Indians doesn’t mean they’ll remember it when confronted by the mermaids.” I leaned forward. “Protecting the rights of our people has been your most important cause. Are the mermaids any different? Do they deserve this exploitation? If we don’t stop this madness, all that will be left of the mermaids are just their echoing cries from the sea.”

Katie: Do you believe in love at first sight?

D.G.: I actually do. My first and current husbands were both love at first sight. I met my daughter’s father at a wedding (while on a date with someone else – eek) and was immediately taken in by him. Even after all the ick between us, I still remember him that night. My now husband and I met while rehearsing a play. We were instantly attracted to each other, and we could barely keep our eyes off each other when backstage during performances. We got married 8 months later. Our story could have actually worked for the Second Chance for Love anthology.

Katie: List five adjectives to describe yourself.

D.G.: Patient. Determined. Wishful. Persistent. Loving.

Katie: If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction?

D.G.: It would be a drama, I think. I’ve always thought if I got enough “fame” to write a memoir, I’d call it “The Call-Back Girl” for I’ve spent my whole life getting enough jobs as an actress and writer to validate that I’m on the right track but never getting the big parts or the fat publishing deal. When I was an actress in my teens and twenties, I had call-backs for some pretty cool roles in movies or TV but I never got the parts. As an author, I publish regularly but never get those juicy contracts with the advances and multi-book deals some of my friends get. Even in love I’ve had to go through a lot of trial and error before finally finding a guy I could stick with. So, yeah, a slow drama but with quirks and maybe some musical numbers – definitely an indie film.

Katie: If you could go to the past or future, where would you stay and why?

D.G.: I kind of wish I’d been born in time to be an actress/singer in the 40s and 50s. My singing style is a lot like Doris Day and Judy Garland. I love old, classic films and think I could have been right in there with Debbie Reynolds and Donna Reed.

Katie: What punctuation mark best describes your personality? Why?

D.G.: I’m definitely a semi-colon. I’ve done a lot of interesting stuff in my life, but I still have a lot more to do. So I’m not ready to put a full stop period on my sentence.

Katie: What do you miss most about childhood?

D.G.: I miss the freedom. I was a child in the 70s/80s in a suburb of Southern California. It was idyllic in every way. We used to ride our bikes everywhere, for miles, without cell phones to let our moms even know where we were. We could catch a bus to the beach. There were parks everywhere with crazy, dangerous equipment on them that was fun to use. We had long recesses in elementary school. My high school had an open air quad where we enjoyed our lunches. My kids don’t know what that kind of freedom is like. I’m sad for them because the world has changed, we have to be so protective of them, and because cell phones, endless amount of TV channels, and video games have zapped their will to explore the world.

Katie: Do you prefer card games or board games?

D.G.: Oh, I hate games of all kinds. I’m an intense introvert, and playing games gets me so worked up inside I want to die. When people say “We’re having game night” I suddenly get the flu. And I hate failing at something in front of other people, so the competition inside me actually makes me heat up like I have a fever. I’m good at harmless card games that pass the time like “War” or “Crazy Eights” where there’s no real competition. I also like the board game “Othello” for the same reason. I should probably see a therapist about this.